A University of Maine student was sitting outside his residence hall one recent Saturday evening, working on homework and people-watching, when another young man walked by, then stumbled and fell onto the lawn.
Rather than packing up his books and heading inside to avoid involvement, the student went to the man’s aid and quickly determined an ambulance was needed.
The student who intervened had been through UMaine’s Bystander Intervention Training Program, which teaches members of the university community to speak up or get involved in a meaningful way if they witness or have knowledge of something that bothers them.
“I spoke to that student afterward and he was very grateful that someone had called for an ambulance,” says Lauri Sidelko, the director of UMaine’s Alcohol and Drug Education Programs (ADEP). “He had taken some medication earlier in the evening, didn’t know how it was going to affect him, and he blacked out. The student who intervened really helped him and could have saved his life.”
Bystander intervention programs are gaining popularity at universities nationwide. At UMaine, a host of organizations and departments — including the Safe Campus Project, Alcohol and Drug Education Programs, Athletics Department, the UMaine Counseling Center, Peer Education Program and Residence Life — formed the Bystander Intervention Network in 2009. Sidelko says ADEP team members Bud Walkup, an education specialist, and Rebecca Davison, a graduate student assistant pursuing a degree in higher education, have been especially helpful in putting together the program.
Trainees learn bystander intervention isn’t about putting on a cape to be Superman to swoop in when there is a life-or-death situation, Sidelko says. At UMaine, bystander intervention is as important in small-scale moments that may not be as dramatic, but contribute to the general atmosphere on campus. Heroism can come in the form of telling a friend he has food stuck between his teeth, or a stranger emerging from the restroom that she has a piece of toilet paper stuck to her shoe.
“We want to focus on how we can enhance what it means to be here at UMaine, how we can watch out for the other people here in our community because we care about them,” says Carey Nason, program coordinator of Safe Campus Project. “We want you to care about UMaine and care about the people around you.”
The network was launched with a $1,000 grant from UMaine’s Department of Student Affairs and the slogan “I’ve Got Your BACK.” BACK stands for: be aware, accept responsibility, consider the consequences, and know what to do and do it.
UMaine’s training program takes some cues from national efforts, such as the NCAA’s Step UP! program, but also focuses on campus-specific issues. An important emphasis area is substance abuse, which is a major concern on college campuses.
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